Customs seizes 125,000 kilos of smuggled garlic

by Jacque Manabat, ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines - An estimated 125,000 kilograms of garlic supposedly smuggled from Hong Kong was seized by the Bureau of Customs at the Manila International Container Port on Friday morning.

The five 40-footer container vans carried the garlic packed in 10-kilogram bags.

There was no declaration on what the shipment contained. It also had no phytosanitary clearance as mandated by the Department of Agriculture for imported agriculture products.

Customs chief John Sevilla said that the consignee, MC Jayson International Trading, has disowned the shipment through a letter stating that their company was been used for illegal activities by an unscrupulous importer.

Bureau of Plant Industry collected samples from the smuggled garlic. If it will show signs of disease and pest, the whole shipment of smuggled garlic will be destroyed by BOC.

If it passes and proved fit for human consumption, BOC and DA are eyeing to auction the seized garlic at a much lower price.